Eleazar Wheelock, letter, to Samson Occom, 1771 January 22
22 January 1771[1771-01-22]
Call Number771122
[note (type: abstract): Wheelock expresses sorrow at Occom’s repeated and aggravated falls from virtue. He writes that if Occom and his brother-in-law David will go on a mission, Wheelock will give David as much as any schoolmaster sent by the Boston Commissioners.][note (type: handwriting): Writing is small, even and uniform, though letter case is frequently difficult to decipher.][note (type: paper): Small page is in fair-to-poor condition, with moderate-to-heavy creasing, staining and wear, which results in some loss of text.][note (type: ink): Black-brown.][note (type: noteworthy): Contents are identical to those of 771122.1, which is a copy of this document.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
Perhaps you little think what pain [& | and]&and Sorrow of
Heart I have had on hearing of your repeated [& | and]&and aggravated
fall, but I am comforted a little with the Hope that God has
given You Repentance, but I conclude, [unleſs | unless]unleſsunless the [manifeſtation | manifestation]manifeſtationmanifestation
of your Repentance has been very public, clear, Strong [& | and]&and evident
to [every body | everybody]every bodyeverybody, your [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness is near at an End where you are.
and it may be one [deſign | design]deſigndesign of God in leaving you thus to fall has
been to reprove your Staying at home, and in a Sort [compell | compel]compellcompel
you to go abroad among remote Tribes, or else quit your
[Miniſtry | ministry]Miniſtryministry, which I conclude you will never be [eaſie | easy]eaſieeasy in doing
while the Nations are lying in [wickedneſs | wickedness]wickedneſswickedness and [periſhing | perishing]periſhingperishing for
lack of [viſion | vision]viſionvision. You may remember I early [mentiond | mentioned]mentiondmentioned to
you, your going among the Onondagas[org0078.ocp], or some other Nation
there in that quarter, and Said Something about your taking
your Brother David[pers0155.ocp] [& | and]&and Settling your Families in that Country,
and I felt Some concern that you [declind | declined]declinddeclined it as I thought
and have always [feard | feared]feardfeared [yt | that]ytthat you was not [ſo | so]ſoso usefully [imployed | employed]imployedemployed
as you might be among remote tribes. [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Woodward[pers0610.ocp] informs
me of your having [underſtood | understood]underſtoodunderstood me [otherwiſe | otherwise]otherwiſeotherwise, which [muſt | must]muſtmust certain
-ly have been through Some [miſtake | mistake]miſtakemistake. — I also always [beleived | believed]beleivedbelieved
your Brother David[pers0155.ocp] did wrong in leaving that [Cauſe | cause]Cauſecause in the
[wilderneſs | wilderness]wilderneſswilderness where he was So acceptable, [& | and]&and had So wide a Door
opened to him for [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness.
I now propose to You [& | and]&and him that if you will remove and
Settle in any of the Tribes where you may find the [beſt | best]beſtbest
[Proſpect | prospect]Proſpectprospect of [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness, I will allow him as much as any
of the [Schoolmaſters | schoolmasters]Schoolmaſtersschoolmasters have who are [imployed | employed]imployedemployed among any of
the Tribes on the Sea Shore, by the [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston [Commiſsioners | commissioners]Commiſsionerscommissioners[org0095.ocp];
and will do for you what Shall be [reaſonable | reasonable]reaſonablereasonable, and will
provide a good Interpreter to go with you in the Spring.
[pleaſe | please]pleaſeplease to let me See you or hear from you as Soon as
[poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible.
It is an [aſtoniſhing | astonishing]aſtoniſhingastonishing [gap: tear] of God's Grace [& | and]&and the outpouring
of his Spirit upon this Seminary[org0037.ocp], here you may See the begin-
-ing and budding of the [gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): New]New [Jeruſalem | Jerusalem]JeruſalemJerusalem. the [firſt | first]firſtfirst appearance
of it was upon our getting into a Settled and quiet State
about a month ago. the affairs of this Seminary[org0037.ocp] never [lookd | looked]lookdlooked
with so joyful and [incouraging | encouraging]incouragingencouraging an [aſpect | aspect]aſpectaspect, before, as they now do
I hope in a little Time you will have opportunity to See [ſcores | scores]ſcoresscores
of your [Tawney | tawny]Tawneytawny Brethren, [nouriſhed | nourished]nouriſhednourished by the [Breaſts | breasts]Breaſtsbreasts of this
Alma Mater. —
I cant tell [yo | you]yoyou What lo[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): a]ads of Sorrow I have been bowed
down under, on [acco.t | account]acco.taccount of the falls [& | and]&and [miſcarriages | miscarriages]miſcarriagesmiscarriages of So many
on whom I had dependance under God as [Inſtruments | instruments]Inſtrumentsinstruments to
help forward the great [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign before me. God has been
my Helper or I Should have Sunk inddeed
under the weight
— My dear friend, I have had, [& | and]&and born loads on your [accot | account]accotaccount
I long to know whether God has truly [opend | opened]opendopened your Eyes to
See the wound you have given the [Bleſsed | blessed]Bleſsedblessed Redeemer? and
whether you have [& | and]&and do look upon him whom you have
[peirced | pierced]peircedpierced, [& | and]&and [morn | mourn]mornmourn for what you have done as for an only
Son? and what Revenge you are [exerciſing | exercising]exerciſingexercising upon [& | and]&and towards your
Self in a way of Self denial and [croſs | cross]croſscross bearing? my dear Friend
dont now add to the offence by Setting down [diſcouraged | discouraged]diſcourageddiscouraged and
Say there is no hope of your Future [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness. no my Friend
[reſolve | resolve]reſolveresolve on Revenge on your [Luſts | lusts]Luſtslusts, [& | and]&and [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially your Pride, and
upon the father [& | and]&and Author of them. My Heart [akes | aches]akesaches for you
enough to [beſmear | besmear]beſmearbesmear this Paper with my Hearts Blood if that were
a proper way to [expreſs | express]expreſsexpress my Sorrow, and a way that would
do you any good — but I conclude with Love to you and
your wife[pers0029.ocp]. and am, for [Chriſts | Christs]ChriſtsChrists Sake
Heart I have had on hearing of your repeated [& | and]&and aggravated
fall, but I am comforted a little with the Hope that God has
given You Repentance, but I conclude, [unleſs | unless]unleſsunless the [manifeſtation | manifestation]manifeſtationmanifestation
of your Repentance has been very public, clear, Strong [& | and]&and evident
to [every body | everybody]every bodyeverybody, your [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness is near at an End where you are.
and it may be one [deſign | design]deſigndesign of God in leaving you thus to fall has
been to reprove your Staying at home, and in a Sort [compell | compel]compellcompel
you to go abroad among remote Tribes, or else quit your
[Miniſtry | ministry]Miniſtryministry, which I conclude you will never be [eaſie | easy]eaſieeasy in doing
while the Nations are lying in [wickedneſs | wickedness]wickedneſswickedness and [periſhing | perishing]periſhingperishing for
lack of [viſion | vision]viſionvision. You may remember I early [mentiond | mentioned]mentiondmentioned to
you, your going among the Onondagas[org0078.ocp], or some other Nation
there in that quarter, and Said Something about your taking
your Brother David[pers0155.ocp] [& | and]&and Settling your Families in that Country,
and I felt Some concern that you [declind | declined]declinddeclined it as I thought
and have always [feard | feared]feardfeared [yt | that]ytthat you was not [ſo | so]ſoso usefully [imployed | employed]imployedemployed
as you might be among remote tribes. [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Woodward[pers0610.ocp] informs
me of your having [underſtood | understood]underſtoodunderstood me [otherwiſe | otherwise]otherwiſeotherwise, which [muſt | must]muſtmust certain
-ly have been through Some [miſtake | mistake]miſtakemistake. — I also always [beleived | believed]beleivedbelieved
your Brother David[pers0155.ocp] did wrong in leaving that [Cauſe | cause]Cauſecause in the
[wilderneſs | wilderness]wilderneſswilderness where he was So acceptable, [& | and]&and had So wide a Door
opened to him for [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness.
I now propose to You [& | and]&and him that if you will remove and
Settle in any of the Tribes where you may find the [beſt | best]beſtbest
[Proſpect | prospect]Proſpectprospect of [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness, I will allow him as much as any
of the [Schoolmaſters | schoolmasters]Schoolmaſtersschoolmasters have who are [imployed | employed]imployedemployed among any of
the Tribes on the Sea Shore, by the [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston [Commiſsioners | commissioners]Commiſsionerscommissioners[org0095.ocp];
and will do for you what Shall be [reaſonable | reasonable]reaſonablereasonable, and will
provide a good Interpreter to go with you in the Spring.
[pleaſe | please]pleaſeplease to let me See you or hear from you as Soon as
[poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible.
It is an [aſtoniſhing | astonishing]aſtoniſhingastonishing [gap: tear] of God's Grace [& | and]&and the outpouring
of his Spirit upon this Seminary[org0037.ocp], here you may See the begin-
-ing and budding of the [gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): New]New [Jeruſalem | Jerusalem]JeruſalemJerusalem. the [firſt | first]firſtfirst appearance
of it was upon our getting into a Settled and quiet State
about a month ago. the affairs of this Seminary[org0037.ocp] never [lookd | looked]lookdlooked
with so joyful and [incouraging | encouraging]incouragingencouraging an [aſpect | aspect]aſpectaspect, before, as they now do
I hope in a little Time you will have opportunity to See [ſcores | scores]ſcoresscores
of your [Tawney | tawny]Tawneytawny Brethren, [nouriſhed | nourished]nouriſhednourished by the [Breaſts | breasts]Breaſtsbreasts of this
Alma Mater. —
I cant tell [yo | you]yoyou What lo[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): a]ads of Sorrow I have been bowed
down under, on [acco.t | account]acco.taccount of the falls [& | and]&and [miſcarriages | miscarriages]miſcarriagesmiscarriages of So many
on whom I had dependance under God as [Inſtruments | instruments]Inſtrumentsinstruments to
help forward the great [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign before me. God has been
my Helper or I Should have Sunk ind
— My dear friend, I have had, [& | and]&and born loads on your [accot | account]accotaccount
I long to know whether God has truly [opend | opened]opendopened your Eyes to
See the wound you have given the [Bleſsed | blessed]Bleſsedblessed Redeemer? and
whether you have [& | and]&and do look upon him whom you have
[peirced | pierced]peircedpierced, [& | and]&and [morn | mourn]mornmourn for what you have done as for an only
Son? and what Revenge you are [exerciſing | exercising]exerciſingexercising upon [& | and]&and towards your
Self in a way of Self denial and [croſs | cross]croſscross bearing? my dear Friend
dont now add to the offence by Setting down [diſcouraged | discouraged]diſcourageddiscouraged and
Say there is no hope of your Future [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness. no my Friend
[reſolve | resolve]reſolveresolve on Revenge on your [Luſts | lusts]Luſtslusts, [& | and]&and [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially your Pride, and
upon the father [& | and]&and Author of them. My Heart [akes | aches]akesaches for you
enough to [beſmear | besmear]beſmearbesmear this Paper with my Hearts Blood if that were
a proper way to [expreſs | express]expreſsexpress my Sorrow, and a way that would
do you any good — but I conclude with Love to you and
your wife[pers0029.ocp]. and am, for [Chriſts | Christs]ChriſtsChrists Sake
[Closer]
Your much wounded, [& | and]&and Afflicted
Friend [& | and]&and Servant
Eleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
Friend [& | and]&and Servant
Eleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0030.ocp | M. r Mr. Occom | recipient | Occom, Samson |
pers0155.ocp | David | mentioned | Fowler, David |
pers0610.ocp | M. r Mr. Woodward | mentioned | Woodward, Bezaleel |
pers0029.ocp | wife | mentioned | Occom, Mary (née Fowler) |
pers0036.ocp | Eleazar Wheelock | writer | Wheelock, Eleazar |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0095.ocp | Hanover | Hanover |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0078.ocp | Onondagas | Onondaga Nation |
org0095.ocp | BoſtonBoston Commiſsionerscommissioners | The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America |
org0037.ocp | this Seminary | Dartmouth College |
org0037.ocp | this Seminary | Dartmouth College |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1771-01-22 | JanyJanuary 22.d22nd 1771 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | 22.d | 22nd |
modernization | M.r | Mr. |
modernization | unleſs | unless |
modernization | manifeſtation | manifestation |
variation | every body | everybody |
modernization | usefulneſs | usefulness |
modernization | deſign | design |
variation | compell | compel |
modernization | Miniſtry | ministry |
variation | eaſie | easy |
modernization | wickedneſs | wickedness |
modernization | periſhing | perishing |
modernization | viſion | vision |
variation | mentiond | mentioned |
variation | declind | declined |
variation | feard | feared |
modernization | ſo | so |
variation | imployed | employed |
modernization | underſtood | understood |
modernization | otherwiſe | otherwise |
modernization | muſt | must |
modernization | miſtake | mistake |
variation | beleived | believed |
modernization | Cauſe | cause |
modernization | wilderneſs | wilderness |
modernization | beſt | best |
modernization | Proſpect | prospect |
modernization | Schoolmaſters | schoolmasters |
modernization | Boſton | Boston |
modernization | Commiſsioners | commissioners |
modernization | reaſonable | reasonable |
modernization | pleaſe | please |
modernization | poſsible | possible |
modernization | aſtoniſhing | astonishing |
modernization | Jeruſalem | Jerusalem |
modernization | firſt | first |
variation | lookd | looked |
variation | incouraging | encouraging |
modernization | aſpect | aspect |
modernization | ſcores | scores |
variation | Tawney | tawny |
modernization | nouriſhed | nourished |
modernization | Breaſts | breasts |
modernization | miſcarriages | miscarriages |
modernization | Inſtruments | instruments |
modernization | Deſign | design |
variation | opend | opened |
modernization | Bleſsed | blessed |
variation | peirced | pierced |
variation | morn | mourn |
modernization | exerciſing | exercising |
modernization | croſs | cross |
modernization | diſcouraged | discouraged |
modernization | reſolve | resolve |
modernization | Luſts | lusts |
modernization | eſpecially | especially |
variation | akes | aches |
modernization | beſmear | besmear |
modernization | expreſs | express |
modernization | Chriſts | Christs |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
Jany | January |
& | and |
yt | that |
yo | you |
acco.t | account |
accot | account |
This document's header does not contain any mixed case attribute values.
Summary of errors found in this document:
Number of dates with invalid 'when' attributes: | 0 |
Number of nested "hi" tags: (consider merging the @rend attributes, or using other tags) | 0 |
Number of tags with invalid 'rend' attributes: | 0 (out of 14) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 11) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 0) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 106) |